Muscles, Bones and Tissue

It was a sunny day.  The first real spring day in Denver.  It was also the celebration of my 10th wedding anniversary and my husband and I decided to take an adventure.  We went to see the Body Worlds exhibit at the Denver Museum of Natural History.

I was a little nervous and excited at the same time.  In my youth, when I had dreams of being a physician, I visited cadaver labs.  No need to go into details here, but lets just say it's an experience one never forgets.  And the smell, oh.  Enough said.

But we had heard excellent reviews about Body Worlds.  Words like "brilliant, unforgettable, educational".  So we bought our tickets and went to to see the bodies.

Upon arriving, I thought I smelled formaldehyde, but I realized it was my mind playing tricks on me.  I guess I was expecting to smell it.  I was actually glad there was no odor, no scent of any kind.

We had to show our tickets to two different groups of volunteers, before we gained admission to the exhibit.  There were signs everywhere telling us there were no bathrooms inside the exhibit, and once you entered you had to go through the entire exhibit to exit.  Ok, we were pretty psyched by now and and the thrill of what we were going to see was palpable.

As soon as we entered the exhibit hall our ears heard the sound of a deep heartbeat and it seemed we in a room of deep red.   Thats the only way I can describe it.  And then we saw our first body.

Muscles exposed, tendons, joints, bones.  Its all there for the naked eye to see.  Bodies in all different poses.  Parts of bodies, pieces of bodies.  Healthy parts, diseased parts.  Awe inspiring, jaw dropping, "and what is that?" bodies.

Most of the bodies were male.  When I saw my first woman I got a little emotional.  Oh my gosh, thats what we look like inside.  My awareness, love and respect for my body has changed tremendously.  We are a creation of brilliance.  We are a mind blowing creation and I shuddered at how some people have so little respect for our humanity.

I hope more people will go to the see the exhibit.  My husband and I both feel it embodies the word "education'.

We may go back again before the exhibit closes or we may not.  Either way we are better people, better humans for having had the experience and we hope others will too.

Here's a link to the exhibit in case you're interested:

http://exhibitions.dmns.org/

End Trans 03/31/10

Spring Cleaning - Hoodoo Style

Its the night before the Full Moon and I'm prepping for an early morning rise, to spring clean the house, Hoodoo style.  Every spring I wash down my house with water, infused with Hoodoo condition oils to clean out the old and bring in the new.  I start on the top floor, work my way to the bottom floor, throw out the old water and scrub in new, blessings of abundance for my home and family.

I have found that when you move in the ways of the Spirit, it is very important to perform an annual cleansing of your home.  Now depending on the work I do, I always perform a cleansing afterwards to clean up and release from any work I've done.  However, our homes are our place of sanctuary and protection, and need to be cleansed on a routine basis.  I perform smudgings regularly, and burn cleansing incenses, but the Spring Cleaning is the intense one, which includes a wash down of all doorways and windows.

In our homes, we have locks and bolts on our doors and windows, and some homes even have alarm systems, but what about protections for the stuff that you can't see, only the negative vibes that you may feel?  Over the course of a year, lots of people come and go from our dwellings, bringing hopefully positive vibes with them, but there's always some funk hanging around.   Not to mention energies left over from family squabbles or unwanted visitors.  And if your a sensitive like me, energies will be drawn to you that you may not want to keep around!
And thus this is why I will rise before dawn, and silently wash down my home, and bless it and thank it for watching over me and my family, and our loved ones.

End Trans

03/28/10

Me and 50

My 50th birthday is approaching.  It will be here in approximately 2 months.  I've stopped coloring my hair and every time I look at it, I freak out at the enormous amount of gray that has settled in with a vengence.  I've always colored my hair.  But then a few months ago I decided to grow locs, and my hair was ecstatic.  I told my hair I'd stop coloring it too, and each time I said it, I felt it sigh a breath of relief. 

Its hard to look at myself in the mirror with gray hair.  I notice every strand, every curly-cue of gray.  I particularly dislike the ones on my sideburns.  And yet I'm holding strong to my promise not to color it.  I notice women with gray hair, and secretly size them up as to how they move in the world.  Are they gray with a youthful vibe, or are they stately and wise with their gray, or do they just look like "oh the hell with it - I'm gray, so be it!"  I think I fall into each category on any given day, depending on my particular mood.

Today I looked at my gray and said, "it's a snow topped mountain!"  "I have wisdom". Yeah, that's it - I keep telling myself.
Not to mention all the thoughts about mortality.  For the first time my husband and I talked about what we would call ourselves, when and if our children ever have kids - which we hope is still a long way off, cause they're still too young, in our opinion.

I look at my dog and she's getting up there (as they say) too.  I look to see if she's got gray eyebrows yet.  Nope not yet.  Yay.
Honestly I never thought I'd see myself with gray hair.  I've fantasized about it.  How great I would look with my brown skin and white hair.  But mine isn't white.  It's gray.  Whole different look.  And most of my friends are younger than me, and I'm also the oldest in the family.  So there's nobody to look up to as a woman and say - so how are you dealing with it?  Except my Mom of course.  I saw a picture of her recently and her gray did look nice, however Mom is also in her 70's.

So we're crossing a new river.  Gray and turning 50.  I've always been blessed with a youthful countenance.  Call it a Gemini blessing.  So facing this new path is a bit scary.  Yet I know there's something good here for me, if I can just stick it out.  I'll let you know how it goes after I turn 50 in May.

And for the record, in my profile picture I'm wearing a wig.  Hahaha, that's not really my hair, but how funny is that, that it's partly gray and it's one of my favorite photos!

End Trans
3/27/10

Ostara, Drums and Snow

Its the Spring Equinox on Saturday.  I've been looking through my magickal texts for tips on decorating my altar.  Even though I change the altar for each Sabbat, so it's something I do often, I still enjoy leafing through my texts, seeing if something new catches my eye.  Tonight I found myself looking through one of my favorites, Ed Fitch's "A Grimore of Shadows".  I love this book.  I found it in my favorite, dusty, used bookstore.  The pages are yellowed and its an original copy.  It screams Witch.  It has wonderful pen and ink illustrations, and its pretty well thought out.

Not only is it the Spring Equinox, its also Pow-Wow weekend.  I can feel the Pow-Wow coming.  I can hear the jingle-jangle of the Fancy Dancers and see the Elders in their beautiful regalia.  I can hardly wait to hear the Master of Ceremonies say "Everybody Dance! Its InterTribal Time".  I love the Pow-Wow.  It reaches down into my ancestry and connects me to the past and gives me glimpses into the future.  I always purchase one special item.  I let it call to me, so I know it when I see it.

Also on Saturday there's a big Ostara party, that goes all night long.  There'll friends and ritual and dancing and music, and we'll all have a blast.  I swear it seems the calendar just waits for this weekend.  So many things going on at once!  Thankfully I'll have Monday off to rest and recuperate.
Oh, and of course, we'll have SNOW!  Yep, the last blast of winter and the first wet of Spring is about to descend upon us.  Wouldn't be Colorado without a freaky turn in the weather.  Today it was 68 degrees, tomorrow it will 30.  Good thing I always have my snow boots ready.


End Trans 3/18/10

One Bad Apple

I have an iphone.  I love my iphone.  It's guided me safely in foreign cities, kept me twittering and sending emails, recorded my voice memos, and given me some cool apps to play.  Based on my iphone love, I felt I was ready to leave the world of Microsoft and purchase an iMac.  I felt like a traitor when I did it and I have since come to regret my decision!

I was lured in by the slick, sleek, design of the computer.  There's no tower, no cpu box to junk up your home office.  And the 21" screen is amazing, and the colors, ooh they're so pretty.  We bought our iMac on 1/31/10 and up until today I couldn't the @#$!!!ing thing to print!  What good is a computer if you can't get it to print?!!  I was unable and completely flabbergasted by the inability to set up my wireless printer!  Which by the way ran perfectly on my Windows based machines.

The support from Apple is quick, and responsive but in the end, they pointed fingers to the printer manufacturer.  At this point I really miss my clunky, beat-up laptop with the duct-tape covering a spot, that sat too close to a light, and just kept on working, machine.

Oh, I figured out the printer.  I am not one to be denied by *&^@# machine.  But it wasn't from Apple helping me, it was my own tenacity, tightly honed from working in IT that spurred me on.  But now the fax won't work.  UGH.

And get this, Apple support tried to SELL ME an extended warranty when I called them for support.  Now that's guts.  I kindly told them if I couldn't get the machine to print, it was no more than a paperweight, and I was interested in purchasing anything else.  The guy said "that sounds reasonable".

So for all it's slick hi-tech image, I have grown nostalgic for my old Windows based, virus susceptible, patch laden machine.  At least it prints, and it didn't take me 5 weeks to set it up!!

End Trans 03/14/10

Crafting and Conjuring

I was working last night.  I crafted and conjured some work for client who lives on the east coast.  I love working the Hoodoo.

I sip on some whiskey, listen to Billie Holiday and get to workin'.  When I am crafting and conjuring I am truly in my element.

I love being of service.  My dear sister Kate, and when I say "sister" I mean she is my Circle sister.  She gave me a lovely cabinet to hold my supplies and I blessed it and smudged it, and it looked so nice, filled with my oils, sachets, needles and threads, and pretty gift bags. 

You see I am a Hoodoo Practitioner, a Rootworker, and a practicing Witch.  I love the Moonlight, and the stars in the night sky.  I sit at my table and blend oils, mix salts, light candles, and pray the highest good be served for my clients.  I conjure spells of healing, prosperity, safe travel, and protection.  I work honey jars and match candles to astrological signs, and I love it.  It's here where I really touch my destiny, my life path, and what I came here to do. 

Now don't get me wrong, I still have my day job.  I'm blessed to be a successful person in the mundane world.  But when I'm conjurin' and craftin', the Universe opens up to me, and I  feel the touch of the Divine, and for that I am truly grateful. 

End Trans 3/10/10

The Wheel Turns

My son is 19 years old today.  Amazing.  It's hard for me to believe that 19 years have passed since he came into the world.  I can still feel his shiny new presence in my heart.  I can still remember that moment of holding him in my arms and singing "Happy Birthday" to him.  My Fishboy.

On the day he was born, Denver was a bright and sunny place.  And then every year after, his birth day, harkened incredible weather.  Mostly snow or even a blizzard.  However today we have very special weather, we have FOG.  Fog thick as pea soup, as folks used to say.  Eerie, magickal, mystical fog.  A true treat for us land-locked lubbers.

One of my favorite childhood stories was about a town that magically appeared, when the fog came down.  The little girl in the story would go for walks in the fog and visit the town. She became friends with all the towns people, and the when the fog lifted, the town would magically disappear.  Funny what one holds onto.

So today I am grateful for the fog, and especially for my son,  who is now 19 years old.

Blessed Be.

End Trans 03/07/10